Road to the final

The path to the first 16-team UEFA Women's EURO final tournament in the Netherlands begins with a preliminary round and takes in a qualifying group stage and play-offs.

In the preliminary round, two groups of four teams are played as one-venue mini-tournaments between 4 and 9 April 2015. The group winners progress to the qualifying group stage to join the 38 highest-ranked contenders in eight groups of five sides contested between 14 September 2015 and 20 September 2016.

The eight group winners and the six best runners-up then advance to the final tournament, while the other two runners-up go to a play-off from 17–25 October 2016.

Hosts the Netherlands will join the 15 qualifiers in the final tournament in July/August 2017. There will be four groups of four teams, with the top two from each section proceeding to the quarter-finals, from when the competition is a straight knockout.

Further details, including the criteria for separating sides that finish level on points in a pool, can be found in the official competition regulations.